Convalescence is the practice of removing you from your normal domestic and working life to focus solely on recovery – replenishing your energy and health.

Convalescence used to be an integral part of all medical treatment. In Victorian England, it was ideal for many recovering patients to spend a few weeks or months in an institution specifically designed for the needs of convalescents. These convalescent homes, as they were often called, began to appear in the middle of the nineteenth century and became an increasingly popular destination for patients in the following decades.

However, convalescent homes were not designed as mere annexes to urban hospitals. Though rest, nourishment, and reprieve from work were all considered necessary to healthy convalescence, it was equally as important where the convalescence took place. Convalescent homes would be located outside of cities in the countryside or near to the sea where the air was perceived to be cleaner and healthier.

In 1926, The Laurels Nursing Home was a convalescent home, with its ideal location close to the sea it was a haven of peace and tranquillity in which to relax and make the most of the benefits of the sea air. Today, Hospital corridors carry signs encouraging people to go home to recuperate – but what if the stresses and strains of daily life will be detrimental to your recovery?

With this in mind and in honour of its past, The Laurels Nursing Home has created a range of convalescent rooms from the luxurious Bourne Suite overlooking the main garden with views to the sea from the Juliet balcony, to the two newly refurbished single rooms with large ensuite facilities.

With access to landscaped gardens, a tranquil sensory garden, cinema room, hairdressing facilities, beautifully decorated communal lounges and all with the benefit of 24-hour nursing care, where better to recuperate from an illness or operation?

On your doorstep is the historic Hastings Old Town with its quaint shops, restaurants, and year-round events such as the Seafood and Wine Festival, Old Town Carnival, Hastings Beer Festival, Hastings Bonfire and a host of live music. There is no better place to unwind and get yourself back to peak fitness.